Data: 90% of encryption protocols generate revenue, but less than 1% disclose market maker terms.

Author: Novora

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide: Of the 150 leading protocols, 91% generate on-chain revenue, but only 8% publish investor reports, and less than 1% disclose market maker terms. All data is on-chain, and third-party platforms also cover it, but protocols simply do not package it for institutional viewing. This is not a data deficiency issue; it’s more of a communication gap.

Disclosure Rate

We evaluated over 150 protocols across 13 disclosure metrics. The gap between the information traditionally required in markets and what crypto protocols voluntarily provide is structural, not accidental.

Less than 1% of protocols disclose market maker terms. In traditional stock markets, market maker agreements are standard disclosures submitted to exchanges. In the crypto space, Meteora is the only protocol in our entire dataset of over 150 protocols that publicly discloses market-making arrangements, through its 2025 annual token holder report.

Third-Party Data Coverage

We assessed five major data platforms. Coverage reflects whether each protocol has a dedicated profile, containing meaningful data beyond basic price information.

72% of protocols are covered by more than four platforms. Third-party data infrastructure has already matured significantly. The data exists. The issue is not data availability but that protocols are not leveraging this data in structured investor communications.

The Transparency Paradox

Revenue exists on-chain. Reports do not exist anywhere. This chart shows the disconnect between data availability and investor communication.

91% of protocols generate traceable revenue. 8% publish token holder reports. The data is right there. It’s on-chain, indexed by third-party platforms, and publicly verifiable. But fewer than one in ten protocols package this data into formats usable by institutional investors. This is the investor relations gap that defines the industry.

Industry Segmentation

Disclosure practices vary greatly across industries. DeFi protocols, especially DEXs and lending platforms, lead in transparency. L1 and infrastructure protocols, despite larger market caps, lag behind.

Token Transparency Framework

Blockworks launched the Token Transparency Framework in June 2025, submitted jointly with Jito to the SEC. Thirteen protocols have submitted. Here’s who they are and what it means.

The TTF adoption rate is 9%, up from 0% in June 2025. The 13 submitters are heavily skewed toward Solana (6/13) and revenue-generating DeFi protocols. No L1, L2, or infrastructure protocols have submitted. The framework was submitted to the SEC with bipartisan support from Pantera, Theia, and L1D. But adoption remains slow.

Active Value Accumulation

38% of protocols have some form of active value accumulation: a mechanism that returns economic value to token holders beyond governance rights. But “value accumulation” is not the same thing. We identified six different models in the dataset.

Alpha is not in the mechanism itself but in the revenue. Any active accumulation model outperforms governance tokens alone by about 19 percentage points in one-year return. But within the active group, daily revenue scale is the key differentiator. Governance tokens have an average return of -51%, while active accumulation tokens average -32% in the same period. The mechanism itself is less important than the fact that a mechanism exists.

Key Findings

Six patterns emerge from evaluating all 15 metrics across over 150 protocols.

Six Numbers Reflecting the Current State of Crypto Investor Relations

Quantifying the gap between institutional investors’ expectations and what crypto protocols provide.

Protocol Index

Each protocol evaluated in this report. Sorted alphabetically. ✓=Disclosed/Exists. ✗=Undisclosed/Missing. Hover on mobile to view full line.

Over 150 protocols were assessed across 18 total metrics (13 disclosure + 5 platform coverage). This index represents the most comprehensive evaluation of crypto investor relations practices to date. The full dataset is maintained in the Novora Investor Relations Benchmark Database, updated quarterly.

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